Lawn or garden tractors commonly include a rotary blade mower deck which is suspended below the tractor's chassis, and which is positioned between the tractor's front and rear tires. Periodic maintenance of lawn or garden tractors commonly includes tasks of cleaning the mower deck by scraping mud and debris from under surfaces of the mower deck, and removal, sharpening, and reinstallation of grass cutting rotary blades. In order to perform such maintenance tasks, clearance between the ground and the lower surfaces of the mower deck must be sufficient to allow an operator to access the under surfaces of the mower deck with tools such as wrenches and scrapers.
A commonly utilized means for providing the needed ground clearance for such mower deck maintenance includes steps of providing a pair of wheel stand ramps, and driving the front tires of the lawn or garden tractor up the ramps and onto the wheel stands. Drawbacks and deficiencies of such mower deck access means include insufficient resultant ground clearance, and ramp structures blocking access to the under surfaces of the mower deck.
Another commonly known means for providing ground clearance for lawn tractor mower deck maintenance includes steps of situating the lawn or garden tractor upon a vertical vehicle lift, and operating such apparatus for vertically raising the lawn or garden tractor above the ground. Common drawbacks or deficiencies of utilizing such vertical lifts include excess bulk and immobility of vertical lift machines, high expense of obtaining and maintaining vertical lifting machines, and an awkward resultant horizontal orientation of the lawn or garden tractor upon vertically lifting.
The instant inventive lawn tractor lift overcomes or ameliorates the problems and deficiencies described above by providing a lift arm, fulcrum, and lever arm assembly which is capable of attachment to a lawn or garden tractor's front tires, and which provides a rearwardly moveable fulcrum or pivot point for providing enhanced mechanical lifting advantage upon initial levering and, in sequence, providing enhanced upward movement upon final levering.